Do American Car Magazines Suck?

"Blake Noble" (no-bull) 03/07/2014 at 18:45 • Filed to: Burning Questions

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Here at home, I sit on a stack of old Car and Driver magazines large enough to equip every bathroom in my neighborhood with at least two and-maybe-a-half issues of car-related reading material.

I accumulated most of those magazines during my childhood years — starting around age seven, every year for Christmas an uncle of mine would buy a new subscription for me, and that continued for a number of years up until it became easier to hand out actual money instead of giving gifts. I believe my subscription finally ran its course at the end of 2006 or 2007.

Growing up, I loved thumbing through them, mostly to gawk at photos of sports cars and satiate a dashboard fetish I had at the time. As I got a little older and actually began reading them more, I was fascinated by the Upfront section that kept track of industry news and future models — especially if there was a drawn rendering involved — and captivated by articles like " !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ." I mean, long before the hosts of Top Gear started buying shitty second-hand cars for a pittance and driving them like morons in a bold display of glutenous self-abuse, here was three Car and Driver editors doing the exact same thing years earlier and the end result wasn't any less of a hilarious failure. How could I not be entertained? I made sure back then to have a copy or two on hand for long backseat trips.

I was almost ready to graduate high school by the time my subscription expired, and it was around this time I stumbled upon another magazine — Car (no Driver this time). Car , for those of you who couldn't tell, is a car magazine that hails from the country that gave us Mini Coopers and that rambling lobotomy patient CNN just sent packing to the unemployment line (note to the UK: we're fine with the former, but for the love of all things holy, please take back the latter). I was blown away by the slick gloss of its cover, the beautiful photography that lined each page, its clean, well-detailed layout. Even the size of the thing was impressive; it could swallow adjacent magazines whole. Even better, the writing was brutally honest and unbiased with just enough dry humor to keep things light-hearted and that kept me reading the damn thing from masthead to buyer's guide until the front cover started to fray around the edges.

Other than John Phillips, who I hope continues writing about cars until we actually start hearing trumpets in the sky, Car and Driver just didn't seem to stack up to its Euro counterpart once I started comparing the two. The format was a trainwreck. The photography and writing was usually about as flavorful as a lettuce sandwich with cardboard for bread, and it was now obvious to me that someone at C&D was lacing the punchbowl with Honda manufactured Narcozep. The featured articles were more miss than hit (articles like "Battle of the Beaters" seemed to be all but forgotten about, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) and the amount of overall content to the amount of advertising was nauseatingly in favor of Jamie Ireland ads and products only pertinent to someone who yells at their crotch for its ineptitude.

It wasn't just Car and Driver that suffered from the same problems. Motor Trend , Road & Track, and Automobile all were lacking in one if not all of the same respects, too. My opinion didn't improve once I had discovered Top Gear had a magazine, either.

Now, I could really draw this out at this point and start talking about the effect the internet and blogging has had on the traditional format of automotive journalism that C&D and its ilk represent on top of how they stack up to car mags from the Old World. I could also ramble on about my trepidation about devoting my in-progress college career to journalism and how I'm not entirely sure if I've made poor decisions because of it. I could also discuss how McAlister's chili is awesome, but immediately sends me running to the nearest stink lodge. But you don't want to hear about that, right? Of course not. Even I don't.

American car magazines, bless their hearts, have tried to right those wrongs. Road & Track most certainly has shown some considerable effort as of late and might be the best one to crawl out of the scrap pile. But, you know, I'm still not entirely sure they're delivering on the same levels of content as their British counterparts. Something there is still missing ... or more to the point, something there seems like it's still holding them back ( cough, advertisers, cough).

Or maybe it's just me. What do you think? Do American car magazines suck? Are they the best out there because 'MURICA!? Or is reading any sort of magazine in this day and age make about as much sense as carrying a beeper and listening to Kylie Minogue records?

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JustWaitingForAMate > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 18:51

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This is tangential to the issues you've raised but I've found that these days pretty much all magazines suck. Month old or more information compiled into a paper format with no edits, updates or revisions available.

With the internet the sheer amount of data that we have access too blows any printed format out of the water, be it professionally created like Jalopnik, or by amateurs in Oppo (just two simple examples), the need/want to go out and purchase a magazine these days is fading away.

SteyrTMP > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 18:53

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The two second-best magazines have gone out of print... SCC was my favorite, and then Modified, but now the only magazine with reading is Grassroots Motorsports. They give free sample magazines if requested, and they have a sister magazine, Classic Motorsports for those inclined more towards the older European cars.

desertdog5051 > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 18:55

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I either steal them from my Dentist office or go to Barnes & Noble and read through them for free and then leave.

Gamecat235 > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 18:58

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You have insulted me directly.

First you lump Automobile in with these lesser publications, then you conclude your missive with an implied negative about listening to the fine works of Kylie Minogue.

Sir... I shall return when my emotions are still and I can compose a proper response.

Until then...

Saracen > SteyrTMP 03/07/2014 at 19:00

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This.

therevengeofthesaab (really likes pre-2005 hondas right now) > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 19:00

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I think it's because American Magazines are a bit biased, look at Motortrend's car of the year over the years...............

Jcarr > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 19:01

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I've got 4 or 5 Rubbermaid boxes filled with MT and C&D issues going back 15 years or so. I still subscribe and still read them (mostly) cover to cover. I originally liked MT better, but as I got a little older I started to prefer C&D because it was a little more lively. MT has just gotten a bit stiff and boring and Frank Markus has always rubbed me the wrong way.

I do think that Eddie Alterman has done a decent job in his few years at the helm of C&D and I agree with you on John Philipps, his columns are consistently good.

You've piqued my interest with Car . I'll have to check that one out. Until then, I think American mags (MT and C&D in particular) are still worth my toilet time.

YSI-what can brown do for you > desertdog5051 03/07/2014 at 19:03

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There is someone like that at Walgreens except he takes at least 3 hours out of his day to read everything. . . everyday.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 19:04

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I have read EVO, Road & Track, Motortrend, and Car & Driver and EVO was definitely the best and most interesting. Having a good mix of old, new, modified, and stock cars. The others weren't bad, but they didn't have the excellent writing of EVO or the variation.

Grindintosecond > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 20:44

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C&D has articles that last longer than a bowel movement. Thats important to a magazine quality otherwise its a car version of US weekly like the rest of them. I grew up on Autoweek and its actually weekly publication. It was awesome. Now its bi-weekly and a bit sadder. I presently read Motorsport. English yes but it lasts a week. R&T is coming along but American readers I guess cant be bothered with in depth thought provoking writing with some history here and there beyond what's found in a brochure.

472CID > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 21:27

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Yeah magazines in general have lost most of their value due to the internet. Brit magazines are nice and shiny but really overpriced/rated in my oppo-inion. Old fashion US rags are still good for comparison tests though, and sometimes editorials.

Maddox Kay > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 21:28

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My favorites are European Car (american) , Evo (British), and Automobile. However, 90% of my automotive reading is on Jalopnik/Oppo these days. I used to love Car and Driver back when they were brutally honest and had at least one whimsical road trip or feature per month but they've fallen off. I used to read Road and Track just for Peter Egan's column and their giant columns of track data but he no longer writes. I think the problem is bigger than just car magazines though, I think British journalism obliterates American journalism in most fields. Good article man

Blake Noble > Grindintosecond 03/07/2014 at 21:53

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Now that's a thought — the readers who typically stick to magazines and stay away from blog could be a factor in holding US auto mags back.

Then again, I can't even see that portion of their readerbase being large enough to even warrant renting out the largest booth at Denny's.

Blake Noble > Maddox Kay 03/07/2014 at 21:56

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Thanks!

If it's one thing C&D and the other three of the Big Four auto mags need to get back to doing, it's the whimsical road trips you mentioned. I have one of the 50th Anniversary issues of C&D where they reprinted their premium sedan comparison through Mexico gone wrong from back sometime in the '80s. Top notch article there.

Blake Noble > Gamecat235 03/07/2014 at 21:58

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They weren't guilty of all of those problems. Automobile certainly had the better layout at the time. Also, Jamie Kitman (does he even still write for them?).

I still can't be positive about Minogue's music, though.

Gamecat235 > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 22:01

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Jeannings, Kitman, Cumberford and Dyer. It's why I still subscribe to it.

And there is no accounting for taste. (Not sure who I am referring to here, but regardless... ;)

Blake Noble > SteyrTMP 03/07/2014 at 22:04

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It sounds like I'll have to check out Grassroots Motorsports.

Blake Noble > JustWaitingForAMate 03/07/2014 at 22:05

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I guess at this point we should really be asking how car magazines can become relevant again ...

SteyrTMP > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 22:11

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To quote a response to a letter to the editor one month, something about there being less pages (usually between 100-200), "we don't have penis enlargement advertisements in the back of our magazine". No truer words... even the advertisements are worth reading.

JustWaitingForAMate > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 22:22

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The thing is, I don't believe they can be. Everything that a magazine can offer a webpage can surpass.

Loping Camshaft > Blake Noble 03/07/2014 at 22:24

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I think we're just used to our mags. I think the absolute best magazines are EVO and for the best classic car stuff, Octane . Octane has columnists like Leno and Derick Bell and the most awesome classic car stuff I've seen in a magazine. For instance, here's a piece about a Maserati Mistral and a Maserati race boat. I would want that boat more than almost any car I could think of.

Grindintosecond > Blake Noble 03/08/2014 at 00:23

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Well, as far as blog attendance goes, I find on here and the FP an occasional in depth post on the history of something or some inside view on another thing that we wouldn't get with the basic blurbs in a lightweight magazine. This makes us search the web more for more information. Suddenly I find myself looking up who had the most awesome facial hair in all of auto racing. C&D or R&T would never lead me to that direction so the blog method of reporting knowledge can lead to more entertaining version of information. Not just an article on the new Corvette.

Scurvy > Blake Noble 03/08/2014 at 07:58

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There is a reason why the subscriptions are only $10 a year now..

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > therevengeofthesaab (really likes pre-2005 hondas right now) 03/08/2014 at 14:00

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Or Car and Driver always picking the BMW 3 series. Always!

DoktorZombie > Blake Noble 03/09/2014 at 22:21

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I only read Automobile and GRM.

Svend > Blake Noble 03/09/2014 at 23:32

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I've not read any American car magazines in many years but U.S. mags are usually advertising based and advertisers pull out of deals if the car isn't given a favourable review (I've seen it on a particular forum that if people talk about a product that doesn't have a forum sponsor then the post or thread is deleted as sponsors may start to feel if a product is being given space and being talked about and the manufacturer is paying to advertise then why should they). the advantage of the internet over buying foreign magazines at silly prices is that many on the magazines are on the internet such as TopGear, AutoCar, WhatCar, etc...

http://www.whatcar.com/

http://www.autocar.co.uk/

http://www.topgear.com/uk/

So although its not an actual magazine with the layout you'd find in a paper magazine, all the information and arcticles are pretty much there.

CreativeApex > Blake Noble 03/11/2014 at 11:50

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Hemmings sports and exotics magazine. I never found the 'exotic' to be what it is in today's vernacular (e.g. konenggin.... that). More so it appeared to be a series of lustful articles about (mostly) old iron. One that memory serves was a tribute to driving an MGB GT in the winters in vermont; not long ago, like this winter. Rusty, plenty of holes, I'm not sure how exotic or sports that ever was/is but it is good reading.